Inseam trimming and welt beating machines



Nov. 13, 1962 H. F. ROSS INSEAM TRIMMING AND WELT BEATING MACHINES Filed Aug. 21, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INSEAM TRIMMING AND WELT BEATING MACHINES Filed Aug. 2l, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Egg 48 H. F. Ross 1962 ES Nov. 13 INsEAM TRIMMING AND WELT BEATING MACHIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 2l, 1961 3,063,072 INSEAM TRlMMlNG AND WELT BEATING MACHINES Herbert F. Ross, Winchester, Mass., assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 21, 1951, Ser. No. 132,637 8 Claims. (Cl. 12-4.4)

This invention relates to shoe machinery and more particularly to machines for trimming the inseams of partially fabricated welt shoes. Of general concern in the manufacture of Goodyear and other welt shoes is the undesirable condition known as strapping wherein the welt exhibits a tendency, after being sewn to the rib, to bend in a direction toward the upper as distinguished from having the desirable, iiat coniiguration that it must have when the outsole is sewn to it. Strapping is more prominent around the toe and in other areas having relatively small radii curves and occurs as a result of opposed stresses in th'e welt, i.e., tension at the periphery and compression at the stitch line. Strapping can be eliminated by a process, following inseam trimming, known as welt beating. This latter process, requiring a separate machine, comprises pounding the welt to eliminate or reduce the internal stresses.

After an inseam has been trimmed it is often desirable to iron or otherwise rub the trimmed surface of the upstanding inseam rib to smooth out and Hatten irregularities resulting from trimming. This process, too, has generally been carried out in a separate machine.

Attempts have been made to build a single machine that would combine the processes of inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating, but to date, no successful commercial machine has been produced. This failure has been due primarily to the fact that the additional instrumentalities required to carry out the beating and rubbing processes impair the operators vision of the trimming area and considerable loss of speed results, nullifying the gain of combining the processes.

An object of this invention is to provide a single machine combining the operations of inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating which machine is as easily and quickly operated as machines for carrying out these processes separately.

It is another object of this invention to produce a combined inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating machine permitting maximum visibility of the shoe at the trimming area.

Still another object of this invention is to produce a combined inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating machine which utilizes as many as possible of the existing trimming instrumentalities found in the most successful types of inseam trimmers and welt beaters.

Applicant has found that it is possible to eliminate strapping by pounding the welt between two work instrumentalities employed in what has proven to be the most successful type inseam trimming machine, i.e., the rotary knife machine, an example of which will be seen in U.S. Patent No. 1,226,872, granted May 22, 1917, to Andrew Eppler. The instrumentalities employed are the rotary trimming cutter and the welt crease guide. Applicant has accomplished this by providing beating means directly associated with the trimming cutter which engage and rub the inseam rib and pound the welt while the inseam is still within the control of the feeding means which includes the Welt crease guide. The welt crease guide is employed not only for its usual purpose as a feeding and guiding instrumentality, but also as an anvil against which the welt is beat. The process of inseam rubbing is carried v out simultaneously with welt beating by the beating means 3,@6372 Patented Nov. 13, i962 which rub and iron the trimmed surface of the inseam as the Welt is beat against the welt crease guide or anvil.

Applicant has further found that the success of this technique in eliminating strapping and reducing irregularities in the trimmed inseam is attributable as much, if not more, to the frequency of pounding as to the amplitude of the blows. 'I'his fact is of considerable importance since the high speed rotary cutters in the machines of the Eppler type are ideally suited for modification in accordance with the invention.

The Eppler or rotary knife type inseam trimming machines have work feeding instrumentalities comprising a driven feed wheel which engages the sole attaching surface of a welt and a welt crease guide engageable with the upper attaching surface of the welt. The feed wheel and guide grip the welt between them and feed the shoe, bottom upward, toward a rotary trimming cutter which severs the upstanding excess portion of the inseam material.

As a feature of this invention, the inseam trimming cutter which has a circular cutting edge is provided with beating means in the form of lugs extending from its periphery in close proximity to the cutting edge. The lugs project further from the axis of rotation of the cutter than does the cutting edge whereby the lugs forcibly engage and rub the trimmed inseam rib and beat the welt against the welt crease guide.

As another feature of the invention the axis of rotation of the feed wheel, which normally has a concave upper surface to accommodate the cutting edge of the rotary knife, is inclined toward the plane of the cutting edge to provide further clearance for the beating lugs which extend radially of the knife beyond the cutting edge.

The above and other features of the invention including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular machine embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. l is a side elevation, partly in section, of the head of an inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating machine embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the portion of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial section of a welted shoe taken on its widest part during inseam trimming and showing the feeding and trimming instrumentalities of the machine;

FIG. 3a is a partial section of a welted shoe taken on its widest part prior to inseam trimming illustrating the condition known as strapping;

FIG. 4 is a detail view of one type of cutter provided with welt beating means shown in operative relationship to the feeding instrumentalities; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing another form of cutter provided with welt beating instrumentalities.

The usual arrangement of the feeding and trimming instrumentalities of an inseam trimmer are seen in FIGS. l and 2. In many respects the illustrative machine is similar to that shown in the above-identified Eppler patent to which reference may be had for a more detailed description of the common parts. A rotary cutter or trimming knife 2 is employed to trim the inseam and will be described in detail hereinafter. Cooperating with the cutter to feed and trim the shoe are a driven feed wheel tand a welt crease guide 6 plus a rotating rib guide 8 all mounted adjacent the lowermost portion or cutting point C of the plane P which defines the cutting edge of the knife 2 (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5). The welt crease guide 6 is shaped and mounted on the machine to enter the crease between the grain side or upper engaging surface of the welt and upper leather of a partially fabricated shoe to press the welt against the feed wheel 4 and also to restrict lateral movement of the shoe inwardly of the machine. The feed wheel 4 has an annular, knurled periphery 10 (FIG. l) engageable with the esh side or outsole attaching surface of the welt opposite the welt crease guide, it being noted that a shoe when being trimmed is maintained bottom upwards. As in prior machines the upper surface of the feed wheel 4 is concave as at 11 to accommodate the trimming cutter 2. A rib guide 8 is engageable with the inner surface of the insole rib and may be either non-rotatable, mounted for idling rotation or power driven as it actually is in many commercial machines.

The machine has a main frame 12 in which is journaled a main drive shaft 14 which receives its power from any convenient means, as for example, a motor driven belt and pulley 16 (FIG. 2). The shaft 14 is driven in a clockwise direction when viewed in the direction of feed, as seen in FIG. 1, which represents the right-hand or feeding side of the machine as seen by the operator. The feed wheel 4 is mounted on the upper end of a driven shaft 18 (FIG. l) having an axis A and which is journaled for rotation in the .main frame 12. A gear 20 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 18 and meshes with a gear 22 on the main driving shaft 14. It will be noted in FIGS. l and 2 that the axis A of the shaft 1S is inclined toward the plane P in which the edge of the cutter 2 rotates, which will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The welt crease guide 6 comprises an idler wheel mounted for rotation on a stud 26 threaded in the forward end of a lever 2S which is pivoted in the machine frame on a stud 30. The welt crease guide is biased upward toward the feed wheel 4 to grip the welt, by a compression spring 32 which bears upon .the rearward end of the lever 28. To release the welt crease guide 6 from its gripping position in order to insert a shoe, the operator depresses .a rod 34, which extends vertically through the frame of the machine, by a treadle (not shown). An adjustable force transmitting lever 36 is mounted for pivotal movement about a stud 38 at the rear of the machine and when a collar 40 secured to the rod 34 bears downwardly upon the inner end of the lever 36, its outer or rearward end moves upwardly. The space between the welt crease guide 6 and the feed wheel 4 is initially adjusted to an amount just less than the thickness of the welt to be trimmed, by an adjusting screw 42 threaded in the lever 36 and which bears against the machine frame 12. The more the screw is advanced toward the machine frame the greater the space becomes between the welt crease guide 6 and the feed wheel 4.

The rib guide 8 is mounted for rotation at the lower end of a bracket 44, the upper end of which is mounted for pivotal movement about a shaft 46 fixed in the upper portion of the machine frame. As stated above, the rib guide 8 may be power driven or may be free to idle at the lower end of the bracket 44. As in the prior art machines, the pivotal motion of the bracket 44 is controlled by a lever arm 48, which, at its rearward end, is attached to the treadle rod 34 by nuts 50. Surrounding the upper end of the rod 34 and compressed between a stationary strut 52 in the frame and a collar (not shown) on the rod is a compression spring 54. When the rod 34 is moved downwardly, the lever 48 is rotated in a clockwise direction about the shaft 46. Hence, the rib guide bracket 44 which is adjustably connected to the lever 48 is also rotated in a clockwise direction about the shaft 46 to move the rib guide 8 out of operative position to permit a shoe to be inserted in the machine.

When the treadle is released, the compression spring 54 supplies the force to urge the rib guide 8 against the inner surface of the inseam which continues during the trimming process. All of the above-described mechanism with the exception of the angular inclination of the shaft 18 is similar to that disclosed in the prior art and operates in a like manner as illustrated by the aboveidentified patent to Eppler to which reference may be had for a more detailed description of the machine.

The construction of the inseam of the welted shoe is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3a, which figures are sections through a shoe taken at the ball line, i.e., the widest part of the shoe, FIG. 3a before trimming and FIG. 3 during welt beating and inseam rubbing operations. The following elements are included: a last 6i), an insole 62, insole reinforcing material 64, an insole rib 66, a lining 68, an upper 70, a welt 72, and a line of stitches 74 that form the actual seam joint. In FIG. 3a, the condition known as strapping is shown wherein the welt 72 (solid line) is curved toward the upper leather as distinguished from the desirable condition (shown in broken lines) wherein it extends substantially parallel to the insole bottom.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the trimming cutter 2 and welt beating and rubbing means will now be described. FIG. 4 shows one form of cutter comprising a replaceable saw tooth blade 78 which is secured in a composite clamping member 80. This cutter is similar to that described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,970,328, issued February 7, 1961, to J. C. Cantley, to which reference may be had for a more detailed description. The clamping member or blade housing 8i) is secured to a shaft 82 which mounts a gear 84. The cutter is journaled in the machine for rotation about an axis B, as shown in FIG. 2, rotation being imparted to the gear S4 by the gear train comprising gears 84, 86, 88 and 90 (FIG. l), the latter deriving its power from the main shaft 14. The direction of rotation of the cutter 2 is counterclockwise as viewed in FIG; l or as viewed in the direction of feed. The cutter is adjustable along its axis of rotation B by an adjusting screw 91 in a manner similar to the prior art machines. l

A plurality of equally spaced lugs 92 are secured by welding or the like to the outer portion of the clamping member and are spaced from the plane P of the cutting edge of the blade 78 in the direction of feed which is to the left as viewed in FIG. 2. The lugs are generally wedge shaped in configuration but have slightly rounded corners 94, 96. The circumference of theoretical circles passing through both the corners 94 and 96 will both be seen to be greater than the circumference of the cutting edge of the blade '78.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative form of cutter also having beating and rubbing lugs attached thereto. The cutter is of the rotary cup type which does not employ a separate or replaceable cutting blade as does the cutter of FIG. 4 but rather is a one piece member 10i), the open face of which is ground to a knife edge 102. Whereas, the cutter of FIG. 4 has the lugs 92 secured to the clamping member 80, in the FIG. 5 cutter, the lugs 92 are secured directly to the cup-like blade but are positioned thereon to operate in an identical manner to those on the replaceable blade cutter of FIG. 4.

Because the axis A of the rotary feed wheel 4 is inclined toward the plane P of the knife edge rather than lying in a vertical plane, clearance is provided within its concave portion 11 for the projecting lugs 92 as well as the knife edge. Note also that the cutting edges of both knife blades approach very closely but, nevertheless, are spaced slightly from the concave surface 11.

The machine operates in the following manner to trim and rub the inseam and beat the welt. As seen in FIG. 3, the shoe is inserted in the machine with the welt 72 gripped between the knurled periphery 10 of the feed wheel 4 and the welt crease guide 6. The feed wheel 4 and the rotating rib guide 8 which engages the rib in the channel area cooperate with the welt crease guide to feed the inseam toward the knife edge 102 as in prior inseam trimmers. The cutting edge 102, whether it is the edge of the saw tooth blade 78 of the cup-like cutter 10), severs the upstanding inseam rib along a line 108 as seen in FIG. 3. It will be noted on FIG. 2 that FIG. 3 is taken as a section through the portion of the cutter that includes the welt beating lugs 92 but does not show the cutting edge of the knife.

The lugs 92., which as stated above, have a greater circumference than the knife edge, in a continuous motion with the severance of the excess portions of the inseam, engage the rib and rub it to a depth slightly greater than the depth of the cut 108, the rubbing depth being repreented by the dotted line 1I() in FIG. 3. Furthermore, the lugs beat at least the inner portion of the welt against the crease guide 6.

Because of the large number of lugs 92 on the trimming cutter and because of the relatively high speed of rotation of the cutter, a great number of high frequency, low amplitude blows or rubbing strokes are imparted to the trimmed inseam and the welt. This not only smooths the trimmed inseam to make it more receptive to the acceptance of an outsole but also eliminates the condition of strapping by relieving stresses withinA the welt and straightening into a plane substantially parallel to the trimmed surface of the inseam and generally parallel to the bottom of the insole.

Because the welt beating lugs may be applied to any of the conventional rotary trimming cutters utilized in the Eppler type machine without requiring substantial machine modification, this invention is a relatively inexpensive and eliicient way of combining the processes of inseam trimming, rubbing and welt beating, utilizing known and proven principles. It will be noted also that no separately located or mounted welt beating hammer or striking means is required, all of the beating action coming from the cutter lugs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an inseam trimming machine, a rotary trimming cutter having a circular trimming edge and means on the cutter for imparting blows to a work piece being trimmed.

2. In an inseam trimming machine, a rotary trimming cutter having a circular trimming edge and a plurality of lugs spaced around the cutter adjacent the edgerto impart a beating and rubbing action to a work piece being trimmed.

3. In an inseam trimming machine, a rotary trimming cutter having a circular trimming edge lying in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the cutter and a plurality of lugs spaced around the cutter which extend outwardly of said axis an amount greated than does said trimming edge for imparting a beating and rubbing action to a work piece being trimmed.

4. In an inseam trimming machine, a rotary trimming cutter having a circular trimming edge, a plurality of lugs on the cutter extending radially outwardly there- 5 from beyond said trimming edge, each lug comprising a substantially wedged-shaped projection engageable with a work piece to beat and rub said work piece as it is being trimmed by said trimming edge.

5. In an inseam trimming machine the combination of a feed member constructed and arranged to engage an outer portion of the inseam substance of a partially fabricated welt shoe, a work supporting member constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching surface of the welt, and a rotary cutter having a circular trimming blade and a plurality of lugs on the cutter engageable with the trimmed portion of the inseam for imparting a rubbing action thereto and with the welt to beat it against said work supporting members as the cutter rotates to trim the inseam.

6. An inseam trimming machine having, in combination, trimming means, feeding means located adjacent said trimming means and comprising a driven feed wheel engageable with one side of the outlying margin of the welt of a partially fabricated welt shoe and presser means engageable with the other side of the welt whereby the lfeed wheel and presser means grip the welt between them and feed the shoe to said trimming means, said trimming means comprising a rotary trimming cutter having a circular trimming edge and a plurality of lugs spaced around the cutter adjacent the edge, said lugs being engageable with the trimmed portion of the inseam for imparting a rubbing action thereto and with the welt to beat it against -said presser means as the cutter rotates to trim the inseam.

7. A machine for trimming the inseam of a partially fabricated welt shoe comprising a rotary trimming knife having a circular cutting edge rotatable in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the knife, a welt crease guide shaped to enter the crease between the upper and the welt, a driven feed wheel having an annular portion engageable with the outlying margin of the welt on the side opposite the crease guide, means urging the crease guide toward the feed wheel, whereby they grip the Welt between them and feed the shoe toward the cutting edge of the knife, -a plurality of lugs spaced around the periphery of the trimming knife adjacent the cutting edge, said lugs being engageable with the trimmed portion of the inseam for imparting a rubbing action thereto and with the welt to beat it against the crease guide as the cutter rotates to trim the inseam, said feed wheel having a concave portion exposed to the trimming knife and rotatable about an axis lying in a plane inclined toward the plane of the knife edge measured in the direction of feed whereby said cutting edge and said lugs both pass within said concave portion without engaging the feed wheel.

8. In an inseam trimming machine, a trimming cutter having a trimming edge, and means on the cutter for imparting blows to a work piece being trimmed.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,970,328 Cantley Feb. 7, 1961 

